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Amerikanuak

Nacho Reig
Spain / 2011 / 92 min / Spanish and Basque with English subtitles

More than half a century ago, many Basques left Spain to look for a better life working as sheepherders in the American West. In Amerikanuak, Nacho Reig looks at the lives of some of the last remaining Basque sheepherders in the United States. The documentary takes place under the vast blue skies and bleak but beautiful winter landscape of the small town of Elko, Nevada. Through the reflections of immigrants such as Juan Juaristi “Parrillas,” an 83-year old boarder at the Basque boardinghouse, the Star Hotel of Elko, we hear about the difficulties that many of these immigrants faced in forging new lives in a foreign country, as well as their nostalgia for what was left behind. The Basque group Audience created the soundtrack specifically for the film and the sounds of traditional American folk music resonate throughout the tracks, providing the perfect background for this film about overcoming hardship, adaptation, courage, community and a way of life that will soon be gone forever. 

Amerikanauk is one of the many films included in the catalogue of Spanish Film Club.

Born in Teruel in 1969, Nacho Reig studied image and sound in Barcelona, where he currently lives. In 1998, his short Open his way (Abrirse camino) was selected to participate in the Semaine de la Critique at Cannes Festival among others. Other short films by him are:Vampire Theatre (El Teatro De Los Vampiros), winner of third prize at the Envídeo Festival in Cáceres, and Toletum Jazz Club. He also directed Johnny Whisky, a music video for the group from Bizkaia, The Riff Truckers. Amerikanuak is his first documentary.

San Sebastian Film Festival 
-Zinemaldia Section

Elko Ruby Mountains Film Festival

Bogotá Documentary Film Festival

Barcelona Basque Film Festival

Quotes

"Amerikanuak is a film that moves in a territory between the Northern Exposure series and the movie Brokeback Mountain by Ang Lee. " –TIME OUT

“Amerikanuak is a realistic vision of how Basque diaspora is located in Elko, Nevada, USA” – EL PAÍS

"Amerikanuak is away from the usual narrative feature documentaries with historical facts, opting for a more cinematic approach. " – DEIA